The present invention relates to an earth boring machine and a method of controlling such a machine for boring a hole through the earth.
Boring under streets, roads, railroads, and so forth has been a preferred method of installing utility lines such as sewer, water, gas, electric, telephone, etc. for some time where interruption of traffic would be inconvenient, hazardous or otherwise undesirable. Boring is generally used for the formation of holes having a diameter in the range of six inches through forty-eight inches and tunneling for holes larger than forty-eight inches.
Boring, such as horizontal boring for utility lines, as practiced today generally relies on the experience of the machine operator to attain a satisfactory hole. The most experienced operator, however, cannot always overcome the many obstacles to a satisfactory hole, i.e., gravity, rotational drift, varying ground conditions, rock, existing utilities and other obstructions. These difficulties increase drastically with longer bores.
There have been numerous prior art apparatus and methods proposed to overcome some of these difficulties but none has been suggested which compensates for most or all adverse conditions without serious drawbacks. For example, the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,449 requires a specially designed and built boring machine, requires hydraulic lines from a power unit to the cutting head, requires the use of a casing, and also requires augers with a large center tube and thus small flights which are not good for boring in stony ground.
The apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,045 is likewise disadvantageous in that it requires a parallel pilot hole with pits at each end and an antenna inserted through the pilot hole. This prior art apparatus also requires several trailing electrical wires. The earth boring machine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,597 provides vertical adjustment only, requires the use of a casing with the machine, requires adding special control rods as boring progresses, and requires overcutting of the bore hole to accept the control rods. Such overcutting of the bore hole can be counter to good grade control.
Further, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,926, the earth boring machine, which is designed primarily for drilling through rock, requires multiple hydraulic lines and extensions thereto as boring progresses, requires overcutting of the bore hole and also the use of a casing with the machine. The device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,682 relates to location detection and guidance systems for a burrowing device but requires physical apparatus above the ground along the desired path. Such an arrangement is not practical across railroad tracks and roadways, for example.
An object of the present invention is to provide an earth boring machine and a method of controlling such a machine whereby the aforementioned disadvantages of known apparatus and methods are avoided. More specifically, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method wherein boring can be accomplished with or without a casing, wherein no interfering apparatus above ground is required, wherein no secondary excavations or pilot holes are required so that excavation is minimized, and wherein the present invention can be adapted to existing commercially available boring machines, requiring only a special cutting head and lead auger of the proper size and the attaching of a control unit according to the invention to the existing controls.
These and other objects of the present invention are attained by providing a remote controlled earth boring machine comprising means for boring a hole through the earth, means for detecting the direction of said boring means in a bore hole, means for adjusting the direction of said boring means in a bore hole, means for producing an above-ground reference line for a hole to be bored, means for detecting the direction of said reference line, and means for remotely controlling said adjusting means whereby the direction of said boring means can be adjusted to that of said reference line.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the means for producing an above-ground reference line provides a laser beam as the reference line and the means for detecting the direction of the reference line includes a laser beam receiver means. The means for detecting the direction of the reference line detects both the horizontal direction or directional component of the reference line and the vertical direction or directional component of the reference line.
The present invention further includes the provision of a novel remote controlled earth boring machine comprising an adjustable cutting head, auger means connected to the cutting head, drive means for rotating the auger means and cutting head to bore a hole in the earth, means for detecting the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole, means for adjusting the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole, said means for adjusting including power source means for operating said adjusting means, said power source means being located within at least one of said auger means and said cutter head, and means for remotely controlling said adjusting means. With this remote controlled earth boring machine of the invention the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole can be adjusted without the necessity of multiple connections of hydraulic or electric lines, thus making the earth boring machine of the present invention adaptable to existing commercially available boring machines as referred to above.
Further, according to the present invention a remote controlled earth boring machine is provided which comprises a cutting head, auger means connected to said cutting head, drive means for rotating the auger means and cutting head to bore a hole in the earth, means for detecting the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole, said direction detecting means including a direction sensor located in or adjacent the cutting head and radio transmitting means for the wireless transmission of detected direction signals to a remote location, means for adjusting the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole, and means for remotely controlling the adjusting means. By the use of such a direction sensor and radio transmitting means for the wireless transmission of detected direction signals to a remote location, as discussed above, multiple connections of hydraulic or electric lines can be avoided and the invention can be adapted to existing commercially available boring machines.
The present invention further includes a method of boring a hole through the earth with an earth boring machine including a cutting head. The method comprises the steps of producing an above-ground reference line for a hole to be bored, determining the direction of said reference line, determining the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole, comparing the direction of the cutting head in the bore hole and the direction of the reference line for the hole to be bored, and controlling the cutting head to adjust the direction of the cutting head to the direction of said reference line. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the reference line is a laser beam and the step of determining the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole involves sensing the direction of the cutting head in a bore hole with a sensor and wirelessly transmitting detected direction signals to a remote location for the comparing step.
A further feature according to a preferred embodiment of an earth boring machine of the present invention is the provision of means for adjusting the direction of the boring means in a bore hole which includes a rotatable cam in an adjustable cutting head of the boring machine for adjusting the position of at least one and preferably a plurality of peripheral cutters in said cutting head. Push rod means extend between the cam and each adjustable peripheral cutter for adjusting the position of the respective cutters with relative rotation between the cam and the peripheral cutters. The means for adjusting the direction of the boring means further includes drive motor means for adjusting the position of the cam and power source means for operating the drive motor means, the power source means operating the drive motor means in response to the remote control means of the machine. Preferably, the drive motor means and power source means are located in a lead auger section of the auger means of the boring machine. In the preferred embodiment, the drive motor means is an electric motor and the power source means is a battery pack.